


Finale

by Ana_Kagetsu



Category: Supernatural
Genre: But do they get to stay?, Dean goes to Heaven, Destiel - Freeform, M/M, So does Cas, based on the archive warning, but not for the reason you'd think, this is sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-26
Updated: 2015-03-26
Packaged: 2018-03-19 16:21:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3616344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ana_Kagetsu/pseuds/Ana_Kagetsu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My take on a way the series could end.  Dean is finally offered his chance to rest, but will he take it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finale

**Author's Note:**

> This is another one you can blame on my friend DaniiRebel. We were talking about how the show might end and I came to the conclusion that, at this point, the closest thing we'd get to a happy ending is "and then everyone died" because at least they'd all be in Heaven together. And then I thought of ways the writers could turn even that tragic. And then I wrote this. So, to quote a good and wise man "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."
> 
> *hides and prepares for the lynching*
> 
> You can find me over on [Tumblr](http://anakagetsu.tumblr.com/)

Light. Harsh and burning. Setting every nerve ablaze. “Dean!” Someone was yelling his name. “ **DEAN**!!!” No. Screaming. Broken and full of rage. He knew that voice. Tried to recall a name; a face. He had a brief flash of impossibly blue eyes before the pain and light flooded his awareness, driving everything else out. More screaming. Closer this time. His own voice raw and ragged in his ears. The pain began to fade and he had a moment of blessed relief before panic set in. It wasn't just the pain. It was **everything**. Creeping darkness replacing the light; paralyzing numbness replacing pain. The only thing he could feel was the desperate thudding of his heart in his chest (and even that was stuttering and fading)

Faintly, almost as though it was happening to someone else, there was a feeling of pressure and movement. Arms? There were arms around him; a soft voice whispering in his ear, hoarse and choked with grief. “Dean....please, Dean....don't...” The voice wormed its way into what was left of his consciousness. His stuttering heart sped painfully as a surge of adrenalin brought another vision of blue eyes; mournful and pleading. Lost. This time, the vision came with a name.

Cas.

Cas' arms around him, clutching tight enough to hurt (if he had been capable of feeling anything) Cas' voice, begging him to hold on. He tried, he really did. But that last surge of adrenalin drained what little energy he had left. He fought desperately to reach out, to call his angel's name.

_Cas...._

The darkness closed in.

He couldn't move

_Cas..._

Couldn't speak

_Cas..._

Couldn't breath

_Cas....._

Couldn't.......

 

* * *

 

“ **CAS**!” Dean bolted into a sitting position from where he was lying in the middle of a deserted field. He looked around frantically, the memory of pain and darkness and screaming still fresh in his mind, and found himself alone. “What the fuck?! Sam? Cas?” He took a deep, steadying breath, reveling in the feel of air filling his lungs; of his heart beating steady and strong, if a bit panicked, in his chest. He raised a shaking hand to his forehead and closed his eyes. “That was one hell of a fucked up dream Winchester.”

“Oh sweetie, that wasn't a dream.”

Dean's head snapped up to stare at the source of the soft voice. He blinked for a moment at the sight of a beautiful, blond haired woman standing a few feet away. Her eyes were soft, her expression tender and a bit sad. He scrambled to his feet and took a couple halting steps towards her. “M-mom? I... what?”

Mary Winchester smiled at her son and closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders. “Dean. It's so good to see you. I've missed you so much.”

Dean stood stiffly in Mary's embrace for a moment, brain rattling off a list of reasons not to trust his eyes and ears ( _Shifter, Djinn, Trickster, one too many blows to the head_ ). But his mother's arms around him felt so **real** ; her voice so tender and full of love. Slowly, his body relaxed, arms reaching to hug his mother for the first time in so, so long. “Mom.” Eventually he pulled away and gave Mary an appraising look. A thought was forming in his head, the puzzle pieces falling together: the memory of pain, his heart stuttering to a stop, Cas and Sam's sudden disappearance, his long dead mother greeting him with open arms. He may not have been the educated one in the family, but he wasn't stupid. There was only one explanation. “Mom...am I... is this...Heaven?”

Mary smiled and gave Dean's cheek an affectionate pat, her voice filled with pride. “That's my boy. Never let anything get past you.” She leaned in and kissed his forehead. “Your job is done sweetie. Time to rest.”

Dean's forehead creased in a frown as he looked around the empty field. “Mom? What about Sam? Is he...”

Mary's smile turned a bit sad. “He's here too. Has been for a little while. He was closer to the center than you were. He and I had a nice long chat waiting for you to catch up.” Dean started to reply, but Mary interrupted him. “He's waiting for you just over the hill. We decided to give you some time to...adjust first.”

Dean frowned, shaking his head. Sammy shouldn't be here. Neither of them should. There was still too much to do. No way in hell (or heaven in this case) they were getting off this easy. His frown settled into all too familiar stubborn determination. With a small nod he started towards the hill. “Ok then, let's go get Sammy and figure out how to get back.”

Mary shook her head with an exasperated sigh. She loved her sons, she really did. But they could be so damn stubborn. “Dean Samuel Winchester you stop right this instant.”

Dean hunched his shoulders and found himself stopping in his tracks, despite his attempt to keep moving. This was his mom. He couldn't just ignore her. He sighed and turned around, giving Mary an apologetic look. “Mom...I'm sorry. I can't just...this isn't...” He huffed out a frustrated breath. “There's too much to do Mom. I need to get back.”

Mary shook her head, smiling sadly as she closed the distance between them. She reached out and gently cupped the side of Dean's face. “Dean. Sweetheart. It's over. You've done so much already, more than anyone should ever be asked to do. You gave everything you had, and when that was gone, you gave more. I am so very proud of you Dean. But now it's time to rest. Let the world take care of itself for a change.”

Dean closed his eyes and leaned into his mother's touch. Rest. Damn, that sounded nice. After a moment he shook his head and moved away. No. He didn't get to rest. Not now. Maybe not ever. He had a job to do. “I'm sorry. I can't. You don't know what it's like down there. I can't just leave things the way they are. I can't just leave Ca-” Dean cut himself off, his throat constricting around the name as his last, hazy memories floated through his mind: Cas kneeling in the dirt beside his body, sounding lost and hollowed out as he called his name. Dean coughed and turned towards the edge of the clearing. His voice was rough when he spoke. “I just...I can't.”

He stalked towards the direction Mary had indicated Sam was waiting, refusing to look back at her. He had gone two or three paces when a familiar sound behind him brought him up short. The rustle of invisible wings in the air. Dean shoved his hands deep in the pockets of his jacket, fists clenched hard and shoulders hunched as though bracing against a blow. The deep, raspy voice that reached out to him was nearly as painful.

“Hello Dean.”

Dean sucked in a deep breath, steadying himself before turning around. There, standing well within a personal space Dean no longer felt, was Cas. The angel stared at him with his usual intensity, tempered with something like gentleness. Cas reached out and lightly grasped Dean's upper arm, fingers fitting unerringly, and perhaps unconsciously, where his hand print used to lay. “Dean. Mary is correct. Your job is done. This is your reward. It's time to claim it.”

Dean gasped at the warmth that spread out from where the angel gripped him. It took everything he had not to melt into that warmth. “Cas. Man. How can you say that? You know the kind of shitstorm I'd be leaving behind. I'm supposed to what? Just let someone else take care of it?”

Cas tightened his grip on Dean's arm, eyes narrowing as he tugged Dean a fraction closer. “Yes Dean, that is exactly what you're supposed to do. You and Sam are not the only hunters in the world. It's over Dean. Let someone else take the burden.”

Dean glanced over at his mother, standing a few feet away, and then back at Cas. Without thinking about what he was doing, he raised his hand to rest over Cas' and leaned in slightly, voice soft and pleading. “And what about you, huh? I can't...I can't just leave you like that. I can't leave you alone.”

Cas' eyes crinkled slightly at the edges in that funny little half smile that was the angel's equivalent of a toothy grin. “I won't be alone. I'll be here. With you. If you want me to be.” Dean frowned in confusion and the angel's lips twitched in a small smile as he explained. “Apparently, I've been granted a...leave of absence. For the moment anyway. I can't say how long it will last, and eventually I will have duties to attend to. But even then, I don't plan to be gone for long.” Cas slid his hand up along Dean's shoulder and neck, until he was cupping his cheek. He took a step forward, close enough to feel the heat of the other man's body, but not quite close enough to touch. “I made my choice long ago. My place is with you. Wherever you are.” A hesitant note entered his voice for the first time. “If....you'll have me, that is.”

Dean reached up to clutch at Cas' shoulders. A disbelieving laugh tore its way from his throat as he squeezed his eyes shut and leaned forward to rest their foreheads together. “Fuck. Cas. You can't... you can't just **say** shit like that.” He pulled back slightly, just enough to look Cas in the eyes, his stare intense and full of longing, hope and fear. “I don't...how...fuck!” He took a shaky breath and looked away. “How do I even know this is real? That _you're_ real?”

Cas turned Dean's face back towards him and, without another word, pulled him forward until their lips met. There was no demand, just the soft, gentle brush of skin against skin. Dean froze for a moment before melting into the kiss. He wrapped his arms around Cas and pulled the angel tight against him with a small moan. Cas threaded his fingers through Dean's hair and opened his mouth to him as the kiss quickly gained heat. For a long moment they lost themselves in one another, lips and tongues sliding and teasing soft gasps from both men. A soft cough came from a few feet away and Dean broke the kiss to look over and see Mary grinning at them. A blush spread across his cheeks and he hid his face in the crook of Cas' neck.

Cas chuckled and placed a small kiss against Dean's temple. His voice was filled with affection when he spoke. “Did that feel real enough for you?”

Still blushing, Dean pulled away slightly, grinning and rubbing at the back of his neck. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess that did.” He looked between Mary and Cas and sighed. “So, this really is it then? Rest in peace, forever and ever amen and all that crap?”

Mary smiled and walked over to her son, putting her hand on his shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Yes, sweetheart. This is it. You deserve this.”

Dean nodded and glanced over at Cas. “And you're part of this, right? You're gonna be here with me?”

Cas grinned and reached for Dean's hand, holding it tightly. “For as long as you want me.”

Dean huffed out a breath and straightened his shoulders. “Well ok then. Let's get this show on the road. Gigantor's probably starting to worry. Gonna be real disappointed to find out he missed our little chick flick moment.” He smiled, pure and happy for the first time in longer than he could remember. With his mother on one side and his angel on the other, Dean headed out of the clearing to claim his reward.

 

* * *

 

 Castiel stood outside the clearing, watching Dean walk away, the shadows of those he loved by his side. He raised his hand and pressed forward until he met resistance. He shoved harder until the air began to ripple, shimmering like a mirage on a hot summer day as he tested the strength of the barrier. His palm began to tingle, then heat up, quickly becoming uncomfortable. He refused to move his hand, leaning into the pain. There was a rustle of wind behind him and soft voice spoke, full of infinite and terrible compassion. “Castiel. It's time.”

Castiel stiffened, his wings flaring out behind him. The instinctual urge to obey was nearly overwhelming, but Castiel was nothing if not stubborn. It's why his Father had chosen him, after all. “Not yet. Please. Just...just a few more moments.”

The Presence behind him drew closer, and when He spoke, the compassion was still there, but underneath it was thread of command. “It's time to let him go Castiel. He's earned his happiness.”

Castiel nodded. “Dean Winchester deserves every ounce of joy Heaven can spare. I just...” He trailed off, fighting down a a wave of loss and grief. His fingers dug into the unyielding air of the barrier. “I always thought I would be part of that joy. That we'd share it together.” It was the basest selfishness, he knew, but he couldn't stop himself from asking. Couldn't keep the longing from his voice. “What about **my** happiness? When do I earn my rest?”

His Father was silent for a long moment, as though He was actually considering the question. For one wild moment Castiel dared to hope. Surely his Father could find someone else, someone with nothing to lose. Someone who wouldn't feel so utterly, desperately alone. Finally his Father spoke and Castiel's heart sunk when he heard the finality in His tone, the ring of Divine Judgment. “When the work is done.”

Castiel barked a bitter laugh. “The work is never done.”

His Father's voice was firm, full of compassion and regret. And absolutely implacable. “I know. I'm sorry.”

The angel's shoulders slumped in defeat as he tried to force his heart to stillness. Tried to smother the warm glow of love that had ignited the moment his grace had brushed against Dean's soul in Hell. That love had served him well over the years, but there was no place for it anymore. Castiel was no longer a rebel. No longer a friend or a lover. He was a soldier. And he had a duty to fulfill.

In a final fit of rebellion, he put all his strength into pushing his hand through the barrier, relishing the pain that flared up his arm and the knowledge that he was burning a scar into the flesh of his hand that even his angelic nature would never heal. His eyes scanned the horizon, tracking the fading figure of Dean as he crested the hill. He felt his Father shift behind him, nearly at the end of His supposedly infinite patience. Castiel closed his eyes, unaware of the tears streaming from them. “Goodbye Dean.”

The sound of wings beating the air filled the clearing and then, silence. The only indication that anyone had been there was the shimmering, hand shaped impression that hovered in the air for several minutes before finally fading away to nothing.

 

 


End file.
